The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) logo is seen during the opening ceremony of the TSMC Global RnD Center in Hsinchu on July 28, 2023. (Photo by Amber Wang / AFP)
Amber Wang | Afp | Good pictures
- Net Income: 592.64 billion New Taiwan dollars ($18.87 billion), vs. NT$582.94 billion expected
- Net Income: NT$225.49 billion, vs NT$213.59 billion expected
TSMC net revenue rose 16.5% from a year ago to NT$592.64 billion, while net income rose 8.9% to NT$225.49 billion. Company Guided first quarter earnings Between $18 billion and $18.8 billion.
DSMC is the world's largest manufacturer of advanced processors and counts companies such as Nvidia and Apple as its customers.
“In the second quarter of 2024, we expect our business to be supported by strong demand for industry-leading 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer technologies, partially offset by continued smartphone seasonality,” CFO Wendell Huang said during the company's earnings call on Thursday. .
CEO CC Wei said TSMC expects 2024 to be a “healthy” growth year, supported by “our technology leadership and broad customer base.”
“Almost all AI innovators are working with TSMC to address AI-related demand for energy-efficient computing power,” Wei said, adding that the company estimates the revenue contribution of server AI processors to “more than double this year.”
TSMC expects second-quarter revenue to be between $19.6 billion and $20.4 billion.
TSMC currently produces 3-nanometer chips and plans to start mass production of 2-nanometer chips in 2025.
TSMC shares have surged 56% in the past year on strong demand for AI chips driven by the proliferation of big-language models like ChatGPT and Chinese clones.
“TSMC is well-positioned for strong performance based on key industry trends. Continued demand for advanced chips, especially those used in AI applications, is a positive sign in the short and long term. Focus on advanced chip development and the shift towards 3nm technology is another factor driving TSMC's long-term growth,” he said. Brady Wang, co-director of Counterpoint Research, said ahead of the results on Monday.
TSMC accounts for 61% of global foundry revenue in the fourth quarter, according to Counterpoint Research data. Samsung foundry came second with 14% of the market.
“TSMC's net profit margin rose to 40% in the company's history, against the industry average of 14%, demonstrating TSMC's strong competitive position. The higher volume is a result of the increased share of 7nm and smaller sales. Chips with significantly higher margins,” said Grzegorz, market analyst at Gonotaxia. Drozdz reported last week.
Last year, TSMC's business was hit by macroeconomic intervention and inventory adjustments. Smartphone and PC makers stockpiled chips during the pandemic, leading to surplus inventories as demand waned during the Covid-19 era.
Earlier this month, Taiwan was hit by an earthquake – its strongest in 25 years. A TSMC spokesperson said its construction sites are normal In the initial experiment, workers were briefly evicted from some fabs. The workers then returned to their workplaces.
“There was no power outage to our fabs, no structural damage and no damage to our critical equipment, including our extreme UV lithography equipment,” CFO Huang told investors and analysts on Thursday.
EUV machines are critical in the production of highly advanced processors.
However, some flakes are affected and will have to be “scraped,” Huang said, adding that the company expects most of the lost production to be recovered in the second quarter, with “minimal impact” on earnings.
The US has also recently offered TSMC's Arizona subsidiary is the initial approval $6.6 billion worth of government funding to build the world's most advanced semiconductors. TSMC is eligible for about $5 billion in proposed loans.
